LocalBar 2

Install BAR files directly from your BlackBerry PlayBook. Well, not directly, because (unlike the first localbar), this time you will need a proxy. You can use your BlackBerry smartphone as a proxy, or you can install a proxy software (Squid, tinyproxy, privoxy, etc) in your Desktop (or router), any proxy software is fine if it supports HTTPS.

An Android phone can also work as a proxy.

UPDATE: New LocalBarProxy 1.1.0 for BlackBerry has been confirmed to work on 9800 (thanks to Del Simmons for testing).
NOTE: version (1.0.0) of LocalBarProxy is confirmed not to work in 9800 (and probaby some other BlackBerry model). I have confirmed that it works on my 9650, and some have reported that it works in 9900. I will work on a fix (possibly this weekend).

Here is a demo video showing the use of localbar2. Note that the "installing 0%" can take a long time if you are using your BlackBerry smartphone.

Downloads

If somehow you don't get a bar file from the link above, it may got autoextracted or autorenamed by your browser or utility apps that you have. Download this zip version instead, and unzip it, the password is localbar. The password is to prevent auto extraction.

Next time when the upgrade of this app is available, you can install the upgrade directly from PlayBook using this app.

Guide

You MUST enable development mode before installing the apps (you should have done this step when you sideload LocalBar.

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You will need to grant some privileges to this app after first install.

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How to use

You can place your BAR files anywhere in your PlayBook, this app will search for all bar files in the device. There are three installation modes:

Install using proxy to current playbook

To install to the current playbook using proxy. You need:

To be connected through WIFI

To have Development Mode enabled

A proxy server (you can use a BlackBerry smartphone with OS 5.0 or later residing on the same wifi network, or you can use any HTTPS proxy in your local network)

If you are using BlackBerry as your Proxy, you will see a message when running LocalBarProxy: "Started at 192.168.0.165:12000" (the address will not be the same, depends on your network). If you see "Stopped: ERROR", just exit, and re run LocalBarProxy. Type in that address (192.168.0.165:12000) in the "Proxy Address" Field in your PlayBook.

Install to current playbook on rooted device

Actually I haven't test this one yet. It supposed to work if/when we can root OS 2.0

Install to other PlayBook

Just fill in the IP address of the other PlayBook, and the other PlayBook's password (Note: target playbook must be in development mode).

Why do I need a proxy?

You can install bar files from your computer. This is used by developers to test their software.

But a playbook is also a computer, so it should (and it could) be able to install things to itself (this is what the previous version of localbar did):

Well, RIM decided to block that

Note that you can still Install from your computer. That means with
software such as remote desktop or SSH Client, you can connect through
your computer, and ask your computer to install stuff to your
playbook.

Thats great, but then you still need a computer just to install
something in your playbook. The main role of the computer here is so
that the playbook will "see" that the connection comes from outside
the playbook itself.

We could replace the computer with any device that can forward a
connection back to the playbook. For example: a BlackBerry smartphone.

The BlackBerry smartphone acts as proxy. In fact, you can use any
proxy software for your Desktop, Router, etc.

Also note that a playbook can install a software to another
playbook. Perhaps you want to install an app for your parents when you
visit them, or share your brand new apps to your friends in a
BlackBerry meetup